Cantilever support for outlet boxes or the like



Oct. 20, 1942.

CANTILEVER SUPPORT FOR OUTLET BOXES OR THE LIKE Filed Feb. 8. 1941INVENTOR Wwwwf ATroRNEw/s M. B.` AUSTIN, JR 2,?99,675

Patented Oct. 20, 1942 cANTmEvER SUPPORT FOR oUrLE'r BOXES R THE LIKEMerritt B. Austin, Jr., Winnetka, Ill.

Application February 8, 1941, Serial No. 378,097

4 Claims.

Ihe present invention relates to a cantilever support for outlet boxesor the like receptacles, and, more particularly, to a support which canbe used to mount either a shallow or deep outlet box and at the sametime reinforce the member holding the outlet box.

In mounting outlet boxes in the ceiling, it sometimes becomes impossibleto use supporting members extending from joist to joist because of thepresence between the joists of pipes, conduits or other obstructions.When this situation is present, a cantilever support is used which Aissecured to one of the joists to project there- `arm and hold the armsecurely against movement due to the weight carried by the outlet box.

When it was desired to mount such a cantilever type of support in, forexample, a ceiling Ahaving a limited space requirement it was necessaryto turn the bracket on the side in order to accommodate the outlet box.When this was done, the reinforcing or truss effect of the reinforcingarm was completely lost since it would then be disposed in a horizontalplane and could have no effective action in supporting the weight 4atthe outer end of the outlet-supporting arm.

The present invention overcomes the difficulties encountered with thesetypes of supporting members by providing a supporting member capable ofsupporting and securely holding an `outlet in deep or shallow positionand reinforcing the outlet-receiving member in either position.

This is accomplished by employing a bracket having a pair of supportingmembers disposed in parallel planes. The members are secured together atone end and are provided with mounting means at their other end wherebythe bracket can be secured to a supporting member to project therefrom.Either of the supporting members can be utilized to mount an outlet boxor the like in proper position and the other member will function as atruss or support for the outlet-carrying member.

Since either member Vcan be used to carry and support the outlet inproper position, the bracket can be used for deep or shallow outletsWithout being required to be turned on its side in a horizontal positionas was heretofore necessary in limited space requirements.

The ends of the bracket, which are mounted to the support, are laterallyoffset to provide a broad attaching base for the bracket and at the sametime locate the members to be secured to the support in a position inwhich they can be readily secured without interference by the bracket.

The bracket, in the preferred form of the invention, is formed from asingle piece of flat strap-like material, with the flat surfacesdisposed n parallel planes and connected at their free ends by a portionof the strap which is at substantially right angles with the members.The nat surfaces, when cooperating with the attaching means for theoutlet box, will hold the outlet against twisting or turning movement.

Further, as the carrying members extend in their respective planes forthe full length of the bracket, the outlet can be adjusted to anyposition along the member thus providing the maximum adjustment of theoutlet.

An important practical feature of the invention is the constructionwhereby the attaching means for the outlet box can be moved from onesupporting member to the other without being removed from the bracket.as it can be carried around the portion connecting the ends of themembers.

Other features and advantages of the invention Will be apparent from thespecification and claims when considered in connection with the drawing,in which:

Figure 1 shows the bracket mounted to a support and supporting an outletin deep position.

Fig. 2 is a View similar to Fig. 1 showing the bracket supporting anoutlet in shallow position.

Fig. 3 is an end view of Fig. 1 showing the attaching means.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the bracket shown in Fig. 1.

The cantilever support of the present invention comprises a brackethaving a pair of outletsupporting members l0 and Il disposed in parallelplanes and joined at one end by a portion l2. These members are adaptedto receive an attaching member I3 of an outlet box or the likereceptacle I 4, having the usual knockouts Ma in the sides thereof, tosupport the outlet box therefrom in predetermined adjusted positiontherealong. The attaching member may be in the form of a loop I3aextending around the outlet-supporting member and have means,

not shown, cooperating with the attaching inember for clamping the boxto the bar in the desired position. The other ends of the members IB andIl are provided with mounting means l5, I6 by which the bracket may besecured to the side of a joist ll or other support to project therefrom.

With this type of bracket, which is secured only to one side of itssupport, the outlet box can be ymounted in desired locations betweenjoists and other supports irrespective of the presence or absence ofconduits, pipes or other obstructions between the joists.

While the bracket may be made of stiff rod or other material, in thepreferred form of the invention it is bent up .from a relatively heavy,rigid, flat metal strap with the flat surfaces of the outlet-supportingmembers lil and lll disposed in parallel planes. rIhe flat surfacescooperate with theloop Ita to hold the outlet against rotation on thesupporting member.

The members lil and l! are connected at one end by the portion i2 of thestrap bent at right angles to each of the members l and Il. The otherends of the members I@ and il are bent at right angles to the members toform the attachingmeans or members i and it which are provided withsuitable apertures i8 through which nails lil or the like pass to anchorthe member in position.

Thus it will be seen that by bending the bracket up from one piece ofrelatively stiff strap material a simple and efficient mounting isprovided which can be readily and cheaply manufactured.

As will be noted in Figs. 3 and fi, the ends of the members le and H arelaterally ciset. This lateral offset provides a broad base for thebracket. Since the members iii, ii are always disposed within the limitsoi this base, the attaching means for mounting the outlet box will bewithin .the limits of the base. The base will, therefore, counteract anytwisting movement by the bracket should lateral pressure be applied tothe outlet box and tend to turn it from its predetermined position.

Furthermore, by laterally ohsetting the attach- -ing members I3 and Mi,the securing of the device ,is greatly facilitated, since the nails orother securing means will be exposed and the vbracket will not interferewith the hammering or other manipulation necessary to drive home thenails, screws, or other securing means.

Since the 'bracket-attaching lmeans are bent at right angles to themembers I, H, the only position in which the outlet box can be supportedby the members so as to lie parallel to the ceiling or wall would occurwhen the supporting members lo and il are disposed above one another andportion i2 is perpendicular to the ceiling.

In this position, it will be readily seen that when oneoutlet-supporting member acts kas the support for the outlet, the otherone automatically serves to support the free end of the member `and formin eifect a truss to reinforce and hold the member in position.

the attaching member I3 to lock the outlet in position over the openingin the laths 2i) and the plaster covering 2l is positioned thereover.

In mounting this outlet in this position, the attaching members I5, Itof the bracket are projected downwardly, placing the supporting memberIl a substantial distance from the ceiling.

The member l0 in this position acts through the connecting portion l2 asa reinforcing member to provide a support for the outer end of themember Il and forms a truss to hold the outer end of the member againstdownward movement due to weight which might be applied to the outlet boxUl.`

When it is desired to use the bracket to mount the outlet box in ashallow position for use without a plaster cover, such as shown in Fig.2, it is merely necessary to slide the loop Ita around the portion I2and dispose the outlet box on the outlet-supporting member lil. Thebracket is then reversed so that the attaching means I5, IG extendupwardly and the outlet box can then be disposed as close tothe ceilingas desired so that it projects through .the lath and plaster cover.

In this position, the member Il acts through the connecting portion I2to support the outer end of the outlet-supporting member IS and forms atruss to hold the outer end of the member l against downward movementdue to any Weight being applied to the outlet box.

From both of these g-ures it will loe apparent that the bracket providesa maximum amount of adjustment for the outlet box, for the loop can bemoved to support the box in operative position along substantially theentire length of the support-engaging member, the Shar-p right angleturn at the end permitting adjustment substantially to the end of eachof the support-engaging members.

Variations and modiiications may be made within the scope of thisinvention and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

I claim:

l. A cantilever support for an outlet box comprising a bracket having apair of spaced members disposed in parallel planes, said members beingjoined together at one end vand having means -at the other ends torigidly mount the bracket to the side of a supporting member to projecttherefrom with the members disposed one above the other, either of saidmembers being adapted to have an outlet box clamped thereto andsupported thereby while the other member Yreinforces, and Vholds theoutlet-supporting member in position, said mounting means lying entirelybelow the supporting surface of one of the members where- `by the membercan be positioned .in shallow position to Vreceive an outlet bo-xwithout .interference from said mounting means.

2. A cantilever support for an outlet box comprising a bracket having -apair of spaced outletsupporting arms having fiat surfaces .disposed vinparallel planes, each of said arms being adapted to cooperatek with anattaching means for .the outlet box to support the outlet box, said armsbeing joined together at one `end to produce a continuous path wherebythe attaching means for the outlet can be moved into cooperativerelation witheither arm Without removal from the bracket; and means atthe other end of each of the'arms for rigidly securing the bracket onthe side of a supporting member to project therefrom with one of vthearms lsupporting the outlet box and being reinforced by the other arm,at least the means at the end of one of said arms lying in the spacebetween the arms whereby the arm connected thereto can be secured closeto the edge of the support without interference by the mounting means.

3. A cantilever support for an outlet box cornprising a bracket having apair of spaced members disposed in parallel planes, either of saidmembers being adapted to support an outlet box, said members beingjoined together at one end and having mounting means including means atthe other ends of said members disposed at an angle thereto andextending in the same direction to mount the bracket on the side of asupport to project therefrom the means at the end of one of said memberslying in the space between said members, said mounting means beingadapted to locate either of said members in a position to receive theoutlet box and hold the outlet box while the other member reinforces theoutlet-supporting member.

4. A bracket for mounting an outlet box on the side of a joist and inspaced relation thereto comprising a pair of spaced arms having natsurfaces for the full length thereof, either of said arms being adaptedto receive an attaching means for the outlet box, the arms being joinedtogether at one end and having the other ends bent at an angle to theflat surface and extending in the same direction, at least one of saidends lying in the space between said arms, said ends forming mountingmeans for securing the bracket to the side of the support with the armsone above the other, said bracket being adapted to be reversed wherebyone or the other of the armsmay be used to support said outlet box in adeep or shallow relation depending on the position of said mountingmeans.

MERRITT B. AUSTIN, J R.

